


Be Sure

by TwinkleToestheBerserker



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-02-04 11:57:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18604069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinkleToestheBerserker/pseuds/TwinkleToestheBerserker
Summary: Sarah sends a letter to Jareth, ignoring her best friend and roommate's warning. Everything changes for both of them after she does so.





	1. Be Sure

“Be sure.” Kira said, her face mirroring the discomfort heard in her voice. There was a subtle lilt of Irish accent in her words. Kira had moved from Ireland to California when she was twelve, and the accent has definitely faded, but was still there sometimes, especially when she was troubled.

Sarah watched as her roommate brushed a flaming lock of hair away from her face. Kira’s hair fell nearly to her waist in loose waves. Normally she wore it braided, but today it was loose. It seemed to be constantly getting in her face. Sarah wondered if it was annoying her, and then recognized she was distracted, and pulled herself back on task.

“I’m sure.” she said insistently. “I’m mostly sure. I need to do this.”

She wasn’t actually certain she was sure. She had written him the letter, an assignment for school, and she’d been staring at it for weeks. Would she ever see him again, if she did nothing? How would she give it to him, if she didn’t do this? Today something inside of her had snapped, and she was certainly determined, if not certain, that she needed to send it to him. She knew exactly how, too.

Kira nodded, looking no less troubled. “Just remember. Be sure. There’s no going back, if you do this.”

She nodded. If she opened a dialogue with him again, everything could change. They could start talking again, and then… well, she wasn’t sure about what would happen if they talked again. But things would definitely change. Or on the other hand, he might not respond, might not forgive her. Nothing would change. She would still be wondering, probably for the rest of her life.

“I know.” she whispered. “Still, I have to at least try.”

Kira nodded, and that errant lock of hair fell back in front of her face, only to be brushed away. “I can see that you must. Well. Say your right words, then, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She nodded, and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then another, almost meditating, trying to settle her nerves. It didn’t work. She opened her eyes again, and steeled herself. “I wish… I wish that the goblins would come and take this letter to the Goblin King. Right now.”

There was no crash, no thunder, no flash of glitter. He did not come. But a goblin — a _goblin_!! — appeared out from under her bed and held out a hand for the letter. She handed it solemnly to him, and he vanished under Kira’s bed with it, and when they looked under her bed a moment later, he was gone. She breathed out a sigh. It was done.

Kira sighed next to her, and nodded once, decisively. “That’s done, then. And now, we wait and see.” Still looking troubled, she turned, pragmatically, to the floor harp on her side of the room, and pulled her long hair into a rough bun at the nape of her neck. After a moment she took out a set of tools from a bag on the floor and began the long, laborious process of tuning the harp.

Sarah watched her for a moment, wondering how she could be so practical at a time like this. But Kira was like that. Sarah thought with her heart first, and Kira thought with her head first. In this instance though, Kira was right. She turned and went hunting through her backpack for her homework. She had set the pieces in motion.

Now, it was Jareth’s move, and there was nothing she could do but wait and see.

* * *

“Is that from an admirer?” King Daren asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at the plain, unadorned envelope the goblin had handed Jareth. Jareth had frozen the moment he head the call. He had thought he would never hear from her again, but…. Right there in his hands was proof that she still had something left to say to him.

“I am not certain.” He said slowly, deciding to be honest. What did that plain, unadorned envelope contain? Was it a letter of condemnation? Or a letter of reconciliation? He fingered the envelope gently. That precious girl he had known so briefly all those years ago… She was surely a woman grown. What had made her reach out to him now?

“Are you going to open it, or keep fondling it?” Daren asked. “It interrupted our meeting, and now I’m curious.”

King Daren was the king of the Wild Fae, and his kingdom bordered the Goblin Kingdom on two sides. They had been meeting to discuss a trade agreement when the call had come, and the letter had arrived. Daren was probably Jareth’s closest friend. They were very near in age, and their kingdoms worked very closely together. In fact, Jareth’s kingdom had once been part of Daren’s, in Jareth’s Grandfather’s day. Like Jareth, Daren was bereft of his beloved.

Daren’s beloved has been a young Changeling, who Jareth had seen only once. She had been very young, and half feral, with ancient pain in her grass green eyes. Daren had been able to soothe that pain somewhat, but had ultimately chosen to send her home to her family in the human world until she was grown. He had lost track of her once she returned, and Jareth knew how he felt. He had lost track of his own precious Sarah until she had called, and the letter had arrived. He could feel where the call had come from, beating in his mind like a beacon.

“It’s from Sarah." He whispered. He saw Daren look away from the corner of his eyes. Well, he could imagine how _he_ would feel, if their positions were reversed, and Daren had suddenly gotten word from Tania, and he still knew nothing of Sarah. Daren must be desperate for word from Tania. He sighed and opened the envelope, pulling out the card inside.

It bore on the outside a simple design, a pair of doves surrounded my a variety of leaves and flowers. It was cute, and it made him feel more hopeful. This did not seem like stationary that would contain condemnation. What could she have written, and why had she written at all? He opened the card curiously, and found himself squinting at tiny handwriting.

She had taken up every inch of the card to write him a letter. He found a small smile growing on his lips as he read. She rambled. She was not direct. But the message was clear. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to see him. She wanted to see him!

“Go to her." Daren said, his voice bitter and full of envy. Jareth looked up just in time to see his friend push away from the table. “Your smile tells all. You’ve found her, and she wants to see you. Go, Jareth.”

Jareth rose, holding out a hand to him. “Daren-” he started, but Daren waved him off with a sigh and a shake of his head.

“Don’t… don’t mind me, Jareth, I’m sorry.” He ran a hand though his hair, thick, long, and black. “It’s just… If it was my Tania…”

Jareth nodded and moved to grip Daren’s shoulder in sympathy. “I would that you could find yours also. I will try to seek her, sometimes, while I am in the human world.”

Daren nodded once, his face grim. “You may not find her. If you can’t, I will understand. But I thank you. She might now…” He sighed. “It’s been so much longer, Jareth…”

He nodded. “She may not feel as you feel, she may be with someone, who knows what may have happened? And Sarah may only be seeking my friendship.” They stood together for a moment, bonded together by hope and fear.

“Go.” Daren said, after a long moment of silence. “Good luck, friend.”

* * *

Kira wiped her brow as she sat back from her floor harp, finally in tune, and glanced over at Sarah, who was at her desk, hard at work on what looked like math homework. She frowned briefly at her roommate, filled with worry. She knew what Sarah must be feeling, wanting to get in touch with the Goblin King, but she still thought it was a bad idea. There were so many things that could go wrong, and Sarah was… Sarah was an innocent.

Kira knew full well she had lost _her_ innocence years ago. In some ways, she had never had it. How old had she been when…? Well, it didn’t matter. She was a Changeling. As far as the Underground went, she had lost her innocence when her father has started teaching her about Underground politics when she was twelve. The Goblin King was a minor king, as things went, but he was powerful. If the rumors were true, he would not pass up the invitation to come back into Sarah’s life... Did Sarah know what she was getting into?

She stood, stretching, and her gaze fell on the mandolin on the wall. She let her hand rest on the harp for a moment, staring up at it, thinking of her first teacher in both instruments. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling a brief, sharp stab of jealousy. Sarah had a way to contact King Jareth. What she wouldn’t give… She shook her head, trying to shake off the jealousy, and pulled her ukulele down off the wall. There was no point in jealousy, not now.

She would find her own king soon enough. Somehow, some when, she would find him, and tell him she still loved him.


	2. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jareth arrives at Sarah and Kira's apartment.

Sarah rubbed her forehead distractedly, trying to figure out how to math. Kira had moved from the harp to the ukulele, a much easier instrument to tune. She was plucking an intricate melody, which was both soothing and distracting. Kira was a music major, and had half a dozen instruments she played regularly. The ukulele was probably the most unusual. She also had a mandolin, a guitar, an alto recorder, and a fife, in addition to the floor harp and the ukulele.

Sarah hadn't even seen most of the instruments until they moved from the dorm where they had met and into the apartment they now shared. They had shared a dorm at UCLA, and Kira had only had the floor harp and the ukulele with her that first year. The second year they had decided they needed more room and had found this apartment in a building that had once been a factory before it had been converted into apartments. The building was plain, and so was the studio apartment, but the rent was comparatively cheap, and the room was large and well lit, so they were happy there.

An owl pecked at the window. Sarah stared at it. It was a snowy colored barn owl just like... She stood abruptly and went to the window and opened it. The owl flew in, and in the flurry of glitter there, suddenly before her, was Jareth. He smiled at her in that cat-like way of his.

"Hello, precious." He lilted at her, and before she could stop herself she rushed forward and threw her arms around him to hug him. She felt him stiffen for a moment, before his arms came around her. She could smell the scent of magic on him, and she felt her eyes suddenly fill with tears. "Oh, my precious Sarah, how I've missed you." She felt him run a gentle hand down her hair.

"You must be Jareth." Kira said from somewhere near her elbow. "I'm Akira Finnegan, Sarah's roommate."

Sarah pulled away from Jareth, flustered. She'd forgotten all about Kira. "Oh yes. Jareth, this is my roommate, I call her Kira. Kira, this is Jareth, the Goblin King."

Jareth stared hard at Kira. "You look familiar. Have we met?" He asked, his eyes narrowed.

Kira shrugged. "I've been Underground, but it was years ago, and I don't remember most of it that well. We might have. Or it could be I'm a Changeling, and we tend to all look very alike."

Jareth nodded. "That could be. Are you doing well? I know this world can be hard on Changelings, with all the iron."

Kira nodded. "Thank you for thinking of that. While I was Underground I met a teacher, Liandre, who taught me a remedy for iron inflicted wounds. I actually help other Changelings, mostly children, when they're hurt."

Sarah nodded. "There's a lot of Changelings who call her at all times of the day and night. She makes this green stuff, and it heals the scratches right up."

Jareth smiled. "I know of Liandre. She is... formidable."

Kira laughed. "To say the least." She nodded towards her bed, where her ukulele lay, abandoned. "I'll leave you two to talk, but I wanted to introduce myself before you two got too wrapped up to realize I'm still here." She gave a little wave and then walked over to her bed and picked up the ukulele again began to strum softly.

Jareth and Sarah exchanged a glance, and Sarah found herself laughing. "I'm sorry, I... I forgot she was here when I saw you."

"I heard that." Kira called from the other side of the room, not pausing in her strumming. "You'll pay for that later."

Jareth shook his head. "I did not even notice her. And I should have felt her, as she is a Changeling." He smiled a little ruefully. "It's probably for the best that she came over and interrupted to introduce herself. Fae tend to be territorial, and to me you are..." He trailed off and touched her cheek gently. "Precious."

She found herself blushing. "Ah..." She looked down, unsure how to respond.

He hooked a finger under her chin and pulled her chin up to make her look at him. "I do not tell you this lightly, Sarah. I came here because you asked me to, yes, but I also came with the intention of courting you." His thumb was stroking her cheek gently, distracting her. "Your heart calls to mine, and I will have no one if I cannot have you. That is the way of my kind. May I court you, precious?"

"Um." She said uncertainly.

"He means he wants to date you." Kira called from the other side of the room. "Honestly, Jareth, she's American, she doesn't know what courting is."

"Kira, can you go away for a few minutes?" Sarah asked quietly.

Kira stood with her ukulele and walked closer. "Y'know what you're doing, love?"

"No. Please go."

Kira raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and turned to walk to the door. She opened it and then paused. "I'll be back in three songs. Don't sleep with him yet."

"Kira!" Sarah snapped, but Kira just laughed and closed the door behind her. "Ugh, I'm sorry Jareth, I-" She broke off when Jareth's mouth touched gently to hers. He pulled back almost immediately, but only a few inches.

"Do not apologize for your friend giving you sound advice, precious." His eyes sparkled at her. "May I kiss you again?" He nuzzled her cheek.

She tried to catch her breath. "I— Just a minute." She pressed against him a little and he pulled back, looking disappointed. "Jareth, I... You're making my head spin."

"Excellent." He picked up her hand and kissed it. "You make my world spin, so it seems only fair to make your head spin a little." He pulled her close again, and lead her into an impromptu dance. "You have not answered me, precious. May I court you?"

She took a deep breath. "What does that entail, exactly?"

He smiled. "It is as your friend Akira suggested. It is like human dating, with the single caveat that should we eventually agree to marry, you must move Underground." He twirled her around in the dance. "Say you will, precious. Say you'll court me." He dipped her slightly, and held her there, stroking her cheek gently.

She thought hard for a moment, biting her lip. This was all happening so fast. "It's just... dating? For right now?"

He pulled her out of the dip. "Yes, Sarah. Just dating for now." There was a promise in his voice. Eventually he would want more.

She hesitated, but laid a hand shyly on his cheek, and smiled just as shyly. "Yes, then. I'll court you."

He closed his eyes and smiled. "Oh, Sarah." He leaned closer and kissed her gently, carefully, and thoroughly. Shyly she kissed him back. He pulled her closer, his arms firm around her, one hand cupping her cheek. She could feel his hair in her face, smell the magic scent of him, taste it on his lips. She pulled back, feeling overwhelmed, and he let her, although he kept his arms loose around her.

"I... I wasn't sure what to expect when I sent you that letter, but this was not on the list." She admitted, feeling herself blush.

He chuckled. "Oh, precious thing." He leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. "I have longed for you since you left my Kingdom. I knew I would have to ask you the moment I saw you."

The door rattled slightly as it opened a crack. "Are you decent?" Kira's voice asked from the other side. "It's raining."

Jareth sighed and pulled away, keeping an arm around her shoulders. "Sarah's clothing and virtue are intact." He called over.

"What about you, then?" Kira asked, not opening the door any further.

"I am not unclothed either."

Kira opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at them. "Are you courting, then?" She asked, her eyes lingering on Jareth's arm over Sarah's shoulders.

"Yes." Jareth said firmly, possessively.

"Good, now maybe Sarah will stop moping about you." She said, hanging her ukulele on a hook mounted in the wall above her bed. "Have you decided on your first date yet? I have a suggestion if not."

"Oh?" Sarah and Jareth asked at the same time.

Kira nodded. "I just got a call from the manager of the orchestra. There's a concert next week, and I have three tickets, as I'm doing one of the big solos. Bit of a drive to invite my Gran, thought I might give you all three and Jareth can invite one of his friends to be a chaperon and maybe a date for me? We can go to dinner before, and it will make the rest of the orchestra leave me alone about dating for a bit."

Sarah laughed. "You're so altruistic."

Kira grinned. "I'm a giver, I am. What do you think?"

Sarah exchanged looks with Jareth. "I'd like to." She said. "The orchestra's really good, and Kira's a wiz with the harp."

"Oh, they're letting me play mandolin this time too. It's February, so Valentine's Day." She smiled. "Looks like you two lovebirds got together just in time." There was something just slightly sad in her smile. "Are you staying for dinner, Jareth?"

He shook his head. "I abandoned a meeting with a neighboring kingdom to come. I must return soon. We were discussing trade negotiations."

Kira nodded. "That's important. I'll get started on dinner for me and Sarah then." She wandered off into the kitchen, and a moment later they heard her pulling pans out and putting them on the stove.

"You left a meeting to come here?" Sarah asked shyly.

Jareth nodded. "With King Daren's permission." He looked thoughtful. "I wonder if he would be willing to come to the concert with us. He is one of my few friends, and probably the only one who could pass as human among my friends."

"Why wouldn't he?" She asked.

Jareth looked a little sorrowful. "He is missing his beloved. Another Changeling, named Tania. I promised to look for her some, but I confess... I am unsure where to begin."

Sarah shook her head. "There are a lot of Tania's in the world. Do you have a last name at least? I'll help you look."

He shook his head. "I am not certain I ever knew it. I will ask Daren if he knows." He turned so he was facing Sarah again. "I should be going, precious, but I will return. When will be a good time for me to visit next?"

Sarah considered carefully. "Saturday? I have class in the morning, but I have the rest of the day free. Tomorrow is pretty crazy, I'm only going to be home for breakfast and dinner, and I'll want to be in bed when I'm not eating."

"Saturday, then." He agreed, and leaned down to kiss her again chastely. "Oh, my Sarah. I am so grateful I have found you again." He pulled away then, and a moment later an owl flapped its way out the window and into the rain.


	3. Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah receives a rose, Kira remembers a rose, and Jareth gives Sarah a gift.

The next day was Sarah's long day of classes. As she had told Jareth, she ate breakfast, went to class, and then didn't get home until dinner. She was so tired after dinner that she immediately went to bed. She woke up Saturday morning to the smell of waffles and the sight of a rose on her bedside table, with a note attached to it. She sat up and picked up the rose, smelling its sweet scent before reading the small note.

_Roses are beautiful_

_More so are you_

_Like the sun in the morning_

_When all things are new_

_\- Jareth_

"It's a cute poem." Kira said, coming into the main room with a plate of waffles in each hand, a jug of syrup dangling from her pinkie finger. "Comparing you to the dawn is a little trite, though. A goblin delivered that and the rose this morning just after I woke up."

"Oh hush." Sarah said, blushing and taking a plate of waffles and the syrup. "It's cute." She poured the syrup over her waffles and handed the bottle back to Kira.

"He's enamored of you, of course.” Kira said agreeably as she poured syrup over her own waffles. “Have you decided yet what you’re doing when you’re out of class?”

She shook her head around a mouthful of waffles. “Not yet. I was considering maybe grabbing something to eat, and maybe having a picnic on campus?”

“You should bring a blanket, then, to sit on.”

Sarah’s mouth was full, so she nodded her agreement. They ate in companionable silence, each seated on their bed. When they were done, Sarah took the dishes and washed them, before rushing to get ready for class. Kira pulled her mandolin down from the wall and started to play something Sarah half-remembered hearing before.

“That’s pretty, you’ve played that before.” Sarah said, as she stuffed a book in her bag. “What is it?”

Kira hummed quietly, playing a part, stopping, and playing it again slightly differently. “Something I’ve been trying to remember. I learned it while I was Underground, but I forgot most of it as soon as I came back.” She stopped playing and hugged her mandolin to her. “It makes me think of him.” she said wistfully, so quiet Sarah barely heard her.

Sarah paused in her packing and glanced over at Kira. Her roommate sat hugging her mandolin, looking sorrowful, lonely, lost. “Who is ‘him’?” she asked

Kira just shook her head. “Someone I can almost remember. It doesn’t matter.” She set her mandolin in her lap again and started to play again, something different. “You’re going to be late.”

Sarah glanced at the clock on the wall and swore. She stuffed the last of her things in her bag in a rush, and pulled her shoes on. She rushed for the door, and paused just before leaving. “This conversation isn’t over.” she told Kira. “I want to know more about this guy.” She closed the door behind her and rushed to get to class in time.

Kira stared at the door for a long moment after Sarah left, thinking. She supposed that she really ought to tell her. Sarah had told her all about Jareth and her adventures Underground. It was really only fair for her to tell her own story. She set her mandolin aside and stood, stretching. She walked all too idly over to Sarah’s side of the room. She looked down at the rose on Sarah’s bedside table. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and stroked the petals of the rose, remembering the first rose her king had given her.

_He held out a flower to her, and she took it in gauze wrapped hands, feeling the thorns even through the cloth. She stared at the flower, uncomprehending. She opened her mouth and pulled the flower towards her mouth, and he stopped her with a gentle hand, and a kind laugh. “You don’t eat it, lostling.”_

_She blinked up at him, confused, and he sighed, pity warring with sorrow in his face. “It’s a rose. They are edible, but they’re for looking at more than for eating.” He ran a hand over her closely cropped hair, and smiled at her. “You’re going to be courted often when you’re older, and receive many roses. It is my honor to give you your first.”_

_Something broke through the fog she had been feeling ever since the anger had retreated, something unknown and new. She felt her face heat. “I don’t want them.” She whispered, her voice low and rough from disuse. “Just from you.” Shock flicked over his face, and he opened his mouth to say something, but she turned and ran back through the garden to the castle._

She couldn’t remember his name, but she could remember how she had felt about him, that time. His face in her mind was distorted, and the song she had learned from him, but she could remember how the music made her feel. She couldn’t remember how she had felt about him when she had left the Underground, but she could remember how she had felt when she came back, like her heart had been shredded.

“You were a child.” she whispered to the rose, which of course did not respond. “He was your guardian. He was protecting himself.” She turned away from the rose Jareth had sent Sarah and hung her mandolin up on the wall again, instead pulling down the ukulele and tuning it. Ruthlessly, she turned her mind away from the past, and reminded herself of the present.

She had a week to prepare for a major concert. She was visiting her gran tomorrow. She had to tell Sarah what had happened to her Underground, which meant she would inevitably have to explain how she had gotten there, and what had happened when she got back, and no. She wasn’t thinking about the past right now. She took a deep breath and let it out again slowly.

She glanced over across the room at the rose again, and for a moment let herself pretend that it was her, and not Sarah, who had been found.

* * *

Sarah emerged from her class to blink dazedly in the bright California sunshine. It was early yet, only around eleven o’clock, but it was already warm, for February. It was going to get up into the eighties. Perfect weather for a picnic, and she had forgotten to bring a blanket, she realized with a sigh. If Kira hadn’t distracted her…

She began to walk back to the parking structure, waving vaguely at a few classmates who passed her. She guessed she could go back home, and come back before calling for Jareth… But she really had been hoping to see him sooner, rather than later…

To her surprise, as she approached the parking garage she saw Kira walking towards her, her mandolin case in one hand, a blanket in the other. Kira smiled as she got closer, and held up the blanket. When she was close enough, she said, “You forgot this this morning. I got called in to practice for the concert, and thought I might try to find you.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you.” Sarah said, taking the blanket with much relief.

“Suffer, probably.” Kira said with a grin. “You go find a quiet place to call your beau, I have to run.” And then she was off running again, going towards the concert hall.

Sarah had to hunt for that quiet place. There were people seemingly everywhere she went on campus. Finally she found a small nook between buildings. There were people somewhat nearby, but not close, and they weren’t paying attention to her. She gave them one last look before saying quietly “I wish Jareth the Goblin King was here, right now.”

An arm snaked around her waist, pulling her against a firm chest. She squeaked. “As my precious one commands.” Jareth purred in her ear. “Where are we, precious?”

Sarah turned in Jareth’s embrace, and smiled up at him. “We’re at my school. I just got out of my acting class.”

“Are you studying to be an actress?” He asked, smiling. “I know how you loved acting when you were younger.”

“Early childhood education, actually.” Sarah admitted. “But I love acting, so I sneak in some acting classes when I can, and audition for the campus shows.”

Jareth caressed her cheek gently. “So my Sarah wants to be a teacher? What inspired this?”

“You did.” She said honestly.

“Me?” His wild eyebrows rose nearly into his hairline. “What could I have done to inspire such a noble profession as teaching?”

She smiled. “You taught me so many important life lessons in your Labyrinth. I want to teach so that I can help children learn the lessons you taught me.”

Jareth leaned down and kissed her very gently before murmuring “I am honored, precious.” He partially released her from his embrace, keeping an arm around her. “Do you know, if we decide to wed, there is an urgent call for teachers in the Underground. You would be a great asset to my kingdom, if you chose me.”

Sarah found herself blushing. “It’s… isn’t it a little soon to be talking about that? We just started dating - courting, whatever.”

Jareth picked up one of her hands and kissed it lightly. “Precious, if I thought you would say yes, I would ask you to marry me today. But it is soon for that, as you say, and… I have a notion for what I would like to do, when it is not too soon.” A mischievous light sparkled in his eyes.

Sarah poked him in the ribs lightly. “Don’t go making any plans yet. It’s early days, yet.”

Jareth kissed her hand again. “As my lady commands.” He looked down. “Sarah, precious, why do you have a blanket?”

She grinned. “I thought we could have a picnic on campus, and I could show you around some.”

Jareth nodded. “A capital idea. May I ask you something?” He asked as they began to walk out of the semi-private nook she had found.

“Of course.”

“I have a courting gift for you. Will you accept it?”

“You do?”

They stopped and Jareth pulled out a slim box from somewhere on his person. He presented it to her with a minor flourish. She accepted it, amused, and opened it. Inside she found a white gem carved into the shape of a star on a slim silver chain. It gleamed and shimmered in the bright California sunlight, throwing off dazzling silver-blue sparkles.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful!” She exclaimed. “I don’t know many gems, what is it?”

“It’s a moonstone. I carved it especially for you. It is infused with magic, so that I may know where you are and that you are safe. It is a traditional courting gift among the Fae. Traditionally they are exchanged, but you won’t be able to make one without assistance from me or Kira, to infuse it with magic. Will you accept mine?”

Sarah considered carefully. “You’ll always know where I am?”

He nodded. “On some level. It will be largely ignored, unless I feel distress from you. If you are distressed I may come to check you are alright and not in danger.”

“You won’t use it to… I don’t know, spy on me, or anything, will you?” She asked a little doubtfully.

He shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. It tells me things only passively. Unless I think of it, or you feel great distress, I will not be aware of anything. And even then, only while you wear it. If you ever want privacy, you need only take it off.”

She thought for another moment, and shrugged. “I guess if I can take it off when I want privacy it’s okay.” She pulled it out of the box and he gestured for it. She handed it over and he put in on her, dropping a light kiss on her neck after he had clasped it on. He turned her around when she was done and touched the stone gently.

“It pales against your beauty, precious, but it suits you.” He kissed her gently, and she clung to him lightly.

When they pulled apart she asked, “How can I make you one? Does it have to be a necklace?”

He shook his head. “It can be anything. It must be handmade by you, and of the earth. Carved wood, gemstones, plaited grasses… anything. You will need a Fae or a Changeling, someone with access to magic, to charm it for you, but it can be whatever you want.”

She thought about this for a moment. “I’m not sure what to make you yet… this requires some thought. But I want to make you something too.”

He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, and smiled. “Take your time, precious. It doesn’t have to be today.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “Now. What shall we do for lunch?”


	4. Chapter 4

Some time later, Jareth sat in his library in his castle, looking over the trade negotiation paperwork he had been in the middle of with King Daren. It all seemed fair. He knew Daren wasn’t the type to try and cheat, but it was still always wise, especially among the Fae, to be sure. Trade negotiations, however, were bland enough that he really should use it as an insomnia cure.

The door to his library opened, and he looked up to see Daren enter. Daren was staying in the castle until the trade negotiations were over, and the library was not a restricted area for anyone but goblins. Goblins and libraries… not to be trusted. Jareth waved him over, pushing aside the paperwork as Daren pulled up a chair at the table.

“How are things with your Champion?” Daren asked. “I noticed you were gone this afternoon.”

Jareth smiled. “Things are well. We had a picnic, and she showed me around the campus at her college. She’s accepted my courting gift.” He could feel her now, back in her apartment, feeling a little bored and frustrated. It was a feeling he remembered from his own school days, when working on an assignment, so she must be doing homework.

Daren nodded absently, tapping a finger restlessly on the table. “Good, good.”

Jareth looked his friend over carefully, guessing what it was Daren wanted, what was making him so restless. “I was wondering, Daren, do you know Tania’s last name?”

Daren shook his head. “No. I know only that some part of her name is Titania. I don’t even know if it’s her first name.” He sighed, looking frustrated and worried. “You’ll never find her, Jareth. The human world is so large, and there are so many people there.”

Jareth nodded, thinking much the same. “In that case… Sarah has a friend, named Akira, who has invited us to a concert with their school’s orchestra, and asked me to try and find her a date.”

“No.” Daren said flatly.

Jareth held up a hand. “Let me finish. I think you should, if for no other reason than you might make a new friend. You could use more friends, Daren. Kira is a musician, like you, and a Changeling like your Tania.”

Daren hesitated. “A musician? What does she play, or does she sing?”

Jareth shook his head. “Harp, and she had an entire wall of other instruments… You would probably know them better than I would. She might sing, I didn’t ask.”

Daren hesitated further. He murmured something Jareth couldn’t hear, then said, “How long until the concert?”

Jareth thought. “A few more days. I believe Kira said Valentine’s Day?”

Daren nodded. “I will think on it.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Tania’s probably been dating in the human world, and I know I’ve sought out companionship in the intervening years, but somehow…”

Jareth nodded, understanding. “Perhaps not. If I remember correctly, Tania was deeply attached to you.”

Daren smiled a little sadly. “Too attached.” He shook his head. “This other Changeling, do you think she could be the one I’ve been hearing about? The Scarred Lady?”

Jareth considered that for a moment. “I’ve only met her the once, mind you, but I don’t believe it would be in her nature.”

Daren sighed. “I wish I knew more about this Scarred Lady. Even a name would be useful. I don’t begrudge her taking on the Changeling Kingdom, there are so many I’m having a hard time managing them on top of everything else I do, but… I always thought Tania would…”

Jareth nodded. “However… With a name like ‘The Scarred Lady’…”

Daren shrugged. “She could have one giant scar, or several smaller ones. It doesn’t mean it’s Tania, Jareth.”

Jareth inclined his head, conceding the point. “It doesn’t mean it isn’t, either. I saw those scars on her arms and legs, Daren, when I saw her.”

Daren shook his head. “There are more, so many more.” He tapped the side of his head. “Here, too. Scarred of body, scarred of mind and soul.” He smiled bitterly. “And now, she is back in the world that created those scars, and I… I cannot find her. I meant to protect her, Jareth, not abandon her.”

Jareth nodded. “And I meant to watch over Sarah. At the least, I meant to send Hogwart and the others.”

“Hoggle.” Daren corrected absently. “I wish she had made more friends while she was here. I would have sent someone to try and find her.”

Jareth coughed delicately. “As I recall, she was more interested in biting most people than making friends with them.”

Daren grimaced, rubbing at his own hand. “Even me, once. That was… sort of how we met.” He laughed wryly. “It was my own fault.” He stood then. “But enough. I think… yes. I will attend the concert. You are right. I need more companionship, and another musician would be nice.”

Jareth nodded, then glanced at the paperwork and sighed. “I will tell Sarah tomorrow. I really should finish here.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Daren asked teasingly.

He snorted. “Not for a minute. I know damn well you’ve hidden something strange in this trade agreement, just to make me read it.”

Daren shrugged. “Can you blame me?”

“I suppose not.”

* * *

Sarah sipped at her tea as she stared out the window in front of her desk at the brick wall across the alley behind their apartment. She found herself wishing for the seventh time that day that someone would come along and graffiti it so there was at least something to look at on the brick. Maybe she could talk to Kira about pooling their money to hire a muralist? She was procrastinating again.

Math. Her old foe. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she had to learn calculus to be an elementary school teacher. She sighed and tried, yet again, to focus on the page before her, forcing her eyes to focus on the page of caluclus problems.

The problem was, she decided as she tried to tackle the second problem on the pages, that Kira wasn’t there to make music at her. It was Sunday, and while Kira was not religious at all, Kira’s Grandmother was devotely Catholic. Kira was at Mass with her grandmother, and then she would be gone until after dinner sometime, playing music for her Grandmother, helping in her Grandmother’s garden, and just generally being a good granddaughter.

Which meant Sarah was on her own for the day, and she had a pile of homework. Most of which was easily dealt with. She had a childhood psychology paper to write, and it was already have finished. She had a presentation to work on for another class, but that wasn’t due for weeks. But calculus… there was a special circle in hell for whoever had created calculus.

A tapping noise sounded at the window in front of her, and she nodded absently, jotting down the next part of the complicated equation she was working out. The tapping sounded again, and she looked up to see a snowy banr owl at her window. She rose and opened the window, and it flew in, and a moment later Jareth was perched on her desk. He picked up the paper she had been working on.

“I thought you felt bored and frustrated.” he said, making a face at the piece of paper. “Do you really need this complicated a math course? I thought you said yesterday you were trying to learn early childhood education.”

“I am.” she said with a sigh, taking the paper back. “It’s a requirement for my degree, for some reason I’ll never understand. Did you need something? I thought we didn’t have plans today.”

“Do I really need to make plans first to come and see you, precious?” he asked, mock hurt.

She saw through him, and leaned up to give him a quick kiss. “Of course not, but I thought you had to work, or something. Aren’t you a king?”

He sighed. “Yes, there are duties I must attend to today, and for much of this week. However, I cleared a little time today to come and see you.” He caressed her cheek gently. “If for no other reason than to tell you King Daren has agreed to come to the concert next Thursday, as Kira’s date for the evening.”

Sarah smiled. “Excellent! Do you know, she’s never really dated anyone, as far as I know? I think it will be good for her to date a little, even if it’s just for fun for one evening.”

Jareth nodded. “I agree, and feel the same for Daren. And who knows? Perhaps they will… what is the human phrase? Hit it off?”

She nodded, grinning. “It would be nice if they were at least friends after this.”

“Speaking of your charming roommate, I cannot help but notice she seems to not be here.” Jareth said slyly, running a hand down her hair.

Sarah nodded, distracted, writing another part of the equation she was supposed to be working on. “Yeah, she’s at her Grandmother’s house today, I won’t see her until later this evening.”

“Really?” he asked archly, jumping off her desk, and turning her towards him. He pulled her close to him, and it suddenly occurred to her that they were entirely alone, as his lips touched hers. He slanted his lips slyly against hers, his tongue pressing at her lips, begging for entrance. Before she could stop herself she opened to him, and for a long moment their tongues tangled furiously.

Jareth pulled her even closer, his fingers digging into her hips. Alarm bells began to go off in her head, finally, and he pulled away. “Ah, I’m sorry, precious, I’m moving too fast.” he whispered, resting his forehead on hers. “I apologize.”

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down her racing heart. “A little.” she confessed. “How did you know?”

He reached up and stroked the star pendant she still wore. “I could feel you beginning to panic. I am sorry.”

She smiled a little shyly. “It’s okay, I… I kind of liked it, but…”

He nodded and pulled away a little, keeping his hands on her hips. “It’s too soon.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, as though he needed steadying as well. “I should go.” He opened his eyes and caressed her cheek gently. “You’re far too tempting.”

She smiled, blushing. “And I still have homework.”

Jareth glared at the offending piece of paper and grimaced. “I do not envy you, precious. I will leave you to it. I should return to my trade negotiation paperwork myself. I think I’ve found everything, but leave it to Daren to put in a clause promising I will give him a pet humuhumunukunukuapua’a or something ridiculous like that.”

She blinked. “A what?”

“It’s a fish, precious.” He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly, then pulled away again. “I’ll see you on Thursday, my beloved.”

“Not sooner?” She asked, pouting just a little.

He waggled a finger at her. “Now Sarah, you have school, and I have a kingdom to run. Thursday.” He smiled. “Besides, it will give you time to miss me.” He turned and a moment later an owl was flapping away out the window.

She closed the window behind him against the early February chill, and sighed, looking out at the brick across the street again, without really seeing it this time. “I miss you already.” she murmured, and then sat back down at her desk and tried, again, to concentrate on her homework.


End file.
